Menage a Trois
by picascribit
Summary: 1981: Remus wants something a bit different for his 21st birthday, and of course Sirius can refuse him nothing. A slightly AU "what if?" companion piece to "Take This Longing".


Nuzzling. On the back of his neck. Yes. That was what had awakened him. The brush of Remus's lips on his tender flesh sent a shiver down his spine as he nestled back, enjoying the feel of his lover's body pressed against his own. A very pleasant way to wake up, that, but not so common an occurrence as it had once been. Sirius frowned as this reflection drew him inevitably back to the thoughts he hadn't felt like dwelling too deeply on the previous night when Remus had been inside him.

"Moony?" he said tentatively.

"Hmmm?" The nuzzling continued unabated, and now there was a warm, calloused hand inching its way up Sirius's thigh.

"What're you doing?" His voice was still slurred with sleep.

Remus's mouth curved into a smile at the nape of his neck and he rocked his hips, rubbing his erection against Sirius's arse. "I should think that's fairly obvious."

Sirius sucked in a breath as Remus's hand reached its destination, but refused to let himself be distracted. If he didn't ask now, later might be too late. He found it easier to ask like this, facing away from Remus, eyes still closed.

"I guess I meant 'why' more than 'what'."

"Do I need a reason to want to touch you?" asked Remus, doing it some more.

The nuzzling had migrated from Sirius's neck to his ear, and he shivered again, caught between Remus's grazing lips and stroking fingers.

"Well, no. Not as such. I just thought maybe it's because of - him."

Remus stilled. He had the grace at least not to pretend he didn't know what Sirius was talking about, for which Sirius was somewhat grateful.

"I mean," Sirius made himself continue, still facing away, eyes still closed, "I've seen how he looks at you and how he flirts with you, and I know you were at headquarters until late last night, planning your mission, and I just thought I should say something before the two of you head off to France together, and -"

Sirius was not entirely sure where his rambling and increasingly uncomfortable mishmash of thought was headed, but fortunately Remus interrupted him.

"Are you jealous, Padfoot?" The bastard sounded _amused_.

"No," said Sirius, too quickly. "Why? Should I be?"

A little huffing laugh tickled his ear. "He's not planning to steal me from you, if that's what you're worried about. If you hadn't been so busy noticing him noticing me, you might've noticed him noticing _you_, too. Not that I could blame him."

That gave Sirius pause. "He was?"

"Mm-hmm. He wants both of us. Together."

Sirius rolled over and stared at his lover, who blinked back, looking incongruously innocent. "How d'you know that?" he demanded.

The corner of Remus's mouth curled up in a mischievous half-smile. "He told me so. Last night."

Sirius continued to stare at him, mouth hanging unbecomingly open.

"What?" laughed Remus. "Have I managed to shock the infamously unshockable Sirius Black speechless? Never would've guessed you for a prude, Padfoot."

"I'm not," objected Sirius, scowling. "It's just - last night, when we were - together. Were you thinking about doing that with him?"

Remus bent his head to nip the corner of Sirius's jaw. "No," he purred. "I was thinking about _you_ doing that with him."

"Damn pervy werewolf," Sirius huffed as Remus's hand slid down his belly to wrap around his cock once more.

Remus gave a bawdy chuckle. "Hmmm ... The evidence at hand seems to suggest you're not entirely opposed to the idea."

Sirius's eyes flew wide. "Are you actually seriously considering it?! But - you're going off on your mission tomorrow! It'd have to be today!"

An entirely wolfish grin spread across Remus's face as he drew back to regard his shocked lover. "Well, it _is_ my birthday, after all. Twenty-one, you know."

"Oh," sputtered Sirius. "That's fighting dirty! You _never_ celebrate your birthday in March."

For as long as they had known one another - almost ten years now - Remus had celebrated his birthday in September, and it had only been a few years before that Sirius had learned his boyfriend had actually been born in March. Remus had chosen to change the date after a near-fatal encounter with the werewolf Fenrir Greyback on his sixth birthday had altered his life forever. Ever since learning Remus's true birth date, Sirius had continued with the charade of the September celebration, but always contrived to quietly do something special for Remus when the tenth of March came around. And apparently, Remus knew it.

"You were planning something for today anyway, weren't you?" he grinned. "Devious creature."

"_I'm_ devious? I'm not the one who's talking about inviting some French bloke we met two days ago over for a three-way. You haven't already told him 'yes', have you, Moony?" Sirius asked, suddenly horrorstruck.

"Of course not, Padfoot," Remus soothed. "I told him I'd think about it. Which I did. And yes, that _is_ what put me in the mood to take you to bed last night and do unspeakable things to you until you couldn't remember your own name."

"Didn't forget my name," Sirius mumbled grumpily. "Just couldn't say it properly."

Remus cocked his head, teasing smile fading. "So now I've thought about it. What do _you_ think?"

Sirius bit his lip. Remus actually _meant_ it. "If we do, and then the two of you go off to France together -"

Remus took Sirius's hands between his own and brought them up to his lips. "I swear to you that I won't lay a finger on him the entire time I'm away." His warm brown eyes held Sirius's, sincere. "You're the one I love, Padfoot."

A reluctant smile tugged at Sirius's lips. "I love you, too, Moony. D'you think I could ever say 'no' to anything you wanted, no matter how depraved?" He kissed Remus lingeringly on the mouth. "Happy birthday."

* * *

Remus was just stepping out of the shower when he heard the doorbell ring and Sirius's footsteps going to answer it. His heart pounded and his mouth went dry as he towelled his hair and shrugged into his dressing gown. He had half expected Sirius to say "no", and he hadn't meant to press the issue if he had. It was only a fantasy, after all, and perhaps a bit of fun to put the spark back into their sex life, countering the draining effect of the ongoing war. But Sirius - bloody brilliant, amazing, unpredictable Sirius - had agreed.

By the time Remus poked his head into the sitting room, Sirius and Alexandre were sitting side by side on the sofa, chatting comfortably, but not touching. Yet.

Alexandre d'Argenson was a French agent who had come to Dumbledore two days before, seeking the Order's help in foiling a plot by Voldemort to gain the loyalty of a group of French werewolves. He had heard of Remus - that he was the only werewolf trusted by their side - and had hoped to enlist his aid for the mission. That Alexandre was young, attractive, queer, and completely lacking in werewolf prejudice had been merely a quirk of fate. Remus could have treated him with professional courtesy, ignoring his tousled brown curls, dark blue eyes and smiling red mouth if Alexandre hadn't made his interest in both himself and Sirius quite so plain.

Sirius looked up, quirking his brows at Remus, and Alexandre turned toward him, smiling sweetly. "_Bonjour_, Remus."

Remus felt a bit tongue-tied. It had been easy enough talking to Alexandre up until now. The young agent was almost as fluent in English as Remus was in French. But now, at this sudden collision of fantasy and reality, he hadn't the first clue what to say.

Fortunately, it seemed that Sirius knew exactly what to do. Flashing a lascivious smile at Remus, he turned Alexandre's face back toward him with a hand on his cheek. Their lips met, and Remus's cock twitched as he watched the two beautiful young men kiss one another, slow and deep, their hands linked together in their laps.

Sirius broke the kiss and raised his eyes to Remus's. "Come here, Moony."

Remus moved across the room as if in a dream, eyes never leaving the two of them, and sat down on Alexandre's other side.

"Sirius tells me it is your birthday today," Alexandre said in softly accented English. "_Joyeux anniversaire._" Electricity jolted through Remus's belly as soft, red lips moved against his own in a long, sweet kiss filled with promise.

When they broke apart, Sirius was watching him, gray eyes intent. Wordlessly, Remus beckoned him closer, hand on the back of his neck, pulling him onto a passionate kiss. "You're incredible, Padfoot," he whispered. "I love you."

A smile touched Sirius's mouth and he rose, extending a hand to each of them to draw them to their feet and into the bedroom. Remus, who was still uncertain whether Sirius had agreed to this only to humour him, gratefully let him take the lead.

Once in the bedroom, Sirius paused in the act of stripping off his tee-shirt, a wicked smile lighting his eyes. "Aren't you going to unwrap your present, Moony?"

Remus looked at Alexandre and swallowed. The boy was grinning and biting his lip, looking both eager and nervous. Remus's hands rose to the fastenings of his robes and pushed them off his shoulders. He pulled him in for a kiss as his fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. Alexandre's hands went eagerly to the belt of Remus's dressing gown, and tugged it loose. Remus gasped and opened his eyes as the French boy's hands slid over the bare skin of his chest, exploring his scars without hesitation or any appearance of disgust.

When he came to the scripted "S" tattooed over Remus's heart, Alexandre paused. "S for Sirius?" he asked softly, tracing the letter with a fingertip.

"Yes." Sirius, naked, stepped up behind Alexandre's slim, boyish form and smoothed the shirt from his shoulders, dropping it on the floor. "I have one, too. It's the symbol of our life-bond. Rings wouldn't work; Moony might lose his when he changes." He put his arms around the boy's slender waist, hands working at the flies of his trousers.

"It is - a beautiful thought," said Alexandre, leaning back against Sirius's shoulder. His own chest was bare, smooth and flawless, unmarked apart from a tiny birthmark at the base of his throat, shaped like a crescent moon. His skin was almost translucent, and Remus fancied he could almost see the frantic flutter of his heart.

"It was Remus's idea," Sirius told the boy, lips grazing his ear softly as he pushed Alexandre's trousers and pants down over his hips. Remus's breath caught in his throat at the sight of the boy's erection, springing proudly from a sparse nest of curly, brown hair. "You and I are pretty enough, but everything about Remus is beautiful."

Alexandre nodded wordlessly. His eyes were still fixed on Remus, hands exploring his scars. Remus was finding it a bit hard to breathe in the presence of the twin vision of naked loveliness before him.

"Do you want me to show you what he likes?" asked Sirius, voice low and sultry, stroking Alexandre's belly with teasing fingers.

"Please," Alexandre murmured.

Sirius turned the boy toward him, pulling him close against his body. "First of all, he likes the thought of us together. He told me so this morning." Their mouths met, arms twining around one another. Sirius moved his hips and moaned softly into the kiss, drawing a long, shuddering sigh from Remus at the sound.

"Here," said Sirius, letting go of Alexandre at last and going gracefully to his knees before Remus, drawing the boy down beside him with a hand on his shoulder. "He likes this, too."

And then Sirius's mouth was on him, and Remus had a hard time thinking about much else. Just those lips and that teasing tongue and the slow suction that, Remus knew from experience, Sirius could use to torment him for what felt like hours. Remus moaned, head falling back against the bedroom door, a hand on the back of Sirius's head, laced in the fine black silk of his hair, wordlessly urging him, _More, deeper._

He felt a hand wrap around his shaft and looked down to see Alexandre's fingers stroking him as he watched Sirius intently. Sirius pulled away and touched Alexandre's lower back, encouraging. Remus sucked in a breath at the feel of the French boy's mouth on him, tentative and inexpert, and nothing at all like Sirius, who had almost five years experience in giving head, and knew exactly what Remus liked. And yet there was something deeply erotic about the sight and feel of Alexandre sucking his cock that almost undid Remus right then and there. He breathed deeply, willing himself not to come just yet.

It didn't help when Sirius began to speak, the low, soft voice of his lover telling Alexandre how it should be done. "Suck the head in as deeply as you can, and run your tongue along the underside. Do you feel that ridge? You can do it harder than that; you won't hurt him. Yes, just like that."

Remus moaned again, eyes slipping closed for a moment, as Alexandre gained confidence in his abilities. And then there was a familiar tongue teasing along his shaft, and Remus opened his eyes again in time to see Sirius and Alexandre turn toward one another, Sirius's arm around the boy's waist, the two of them kissing messily around the head of his cock.

"_Fuck!_" Remus gasped, steadying himself on the doorknob.

Sirius drew back far enough to murmur, "He's close. It's okay if you don't want him to come in your mouth. He won't mind."

Remus tried to catch his breath as Alexandre paused as well. "I do not wish him to be finished so soon."

Sirius grinned. "Don't worry; he'll be ready to go again in a couple of minutes. Werewolves don't need long."

He moved to finish Remus off, but Alexandre pushed him gently away and took his cock between his lips again. Remus made a strangled sound, fingers lacing through the boy's curls as Sirius moved behind Alexandre, arms around his waist, and raised his eyes to meet Remus's.

"Do you like this, Moony?" he asked, a teasing smile playing on his lips.

"_God, yes!_" gasped Remus. "Fuck, Sirius - I'm - _oh, God!_" He tried very hard to keep his hips still as he careened into climax, coming in long, shuddering spasms in Alexandre's mouth.

Alexandre looked faintly surprised as he swallowed, Remus noted dimly as he sagged against the door at his back, knees almost too weak to support him. As he struggled to keep his feet under him, Sirius drew the boy to him again, a hand caressing his cheek, tongue licking deeply into his mouth.

"You taste like my Moony," Sirius told him, and Remus wondered if it was possible for him to be getting hard again already.

Sirius rose to his feet, offering Alexandre a hand, and turned to grin at Remus. "Bedtime?"

The bed was easily big enough for the three of them. Remus and Sirius had both been spoiled on large beds at Hogwarts, with plenty of room for lazy wallowing and amorous play. It was one of the few luxuries they had allowed themselves on their meagre funds when they had left school and moved in together.

Remus collapsed onto it gratefully as Alexandre and Sirius tumbled onto the pillows beside him. Alexandre stretched out on his back with Remus and Sirius bracketing him to either side, their hands touching him everywhere as they kissed his face and neck and each other playfully, legs twining together.

"_Merci_, Alexandre," Remus murmured against the boy's lips, where he could still taste himself. "That was amazing."

Alexandre gave him an angelic smile. "I am glad to know I did it well."

Remus's brows drew together as a sudden suspicion struck him. "Had you - not done that before?"

The boy shook his head, still smiling.

"But you've - done other things?" Sirius said sharply, half sitting up.

Alexandre gave another shake of his head.

Remus stared at Sirius, horrorstruck, and then Sirius rolled over onto his back with a moan, hands over his face. "If I go to hell for despoiling virgins, I'm going to tell them it's all your fault, Moony," he said in a muffled voice.

Remus gazed at the boy searchingly. "How old are you, Alexandre?" he asked.

"Almost eighteen."

Sirius gave another groan and did not remove his hands from his face.

"You don't have to do this," Remus told him, concern in his voice. "We can stop right now."

Alexandre touched Remus's face lightly. "I want this," he said. "With you, Remus. And with Sirius." His eyes were very blue, and Remus did not resist when he drew him down for a kiss.

"Well then," Remus sighed a moment later, "you'd best try to talk Sirius back into it." _In for a knut, in for a galleon,_ he thought.

Alexandre smiled and turned onto his side to face a very conflicted-looking Sirius. "I want this," he said again earnestly, taking Sirius's hand and stroking his palm with his thumb. "I am of age. Only a moment ago, you also seemed to want it."

Sirius's gray eyes sought Remus's. "Are you really okay with this, Moony?"

"You were younger," Remus reminded him. "And so was I."

"Well and good, but neither of us went to bed with two grown men our first time, either," objected Sirius.

"I will have the benefit from your experiences," said Alexandre happily. "What could be better?"

"What indeed?" Remus smiled and wrapped an arm around the boy's waist, pulling him back against his body. "None of that clumsy awkwardness that passed for our first time."

Sirius's expression softened at that. "You know I wouldn't trade that for anything, Moony."

Remus let go of the boy in his arms and pulled Sirius into a kiss, Alexandre pressed warm between their bodies. "You know I wouldn't either," he said softly a moment later. "It will be something different that we can give Alexandre. Not better, maybe, but we'll take good care of him, won't we, Padfoot?"

Slowly, Sirius nodded. He looked as if he was about to say something, but Alexandre kissed the words from his lips. Remus watched as Sirius, hesitant at first, gradually allowed himself to relax into the kiss. Three years was not so great a difference in age, after all. Alexandre's arm slid around Sirius's back, pulling him down on top of the boy. Apparently that was all the encouragement Sirius needed. He shifted position, bringing a thigh to press between Alexandre's legs, and they both moaned into the kiss. Remus felt his cock harden as their hips moved together, long, slender limbs straining against the bed, as if they were striving to merge their flesh.

"God, the two of you are beautiful together," Remus murmured, hand drifting to his increasingly insistent erection.

Sirius raised his head and grinned at Remus with swollen lips, then pounced on him, capturing his mouth hungrily. "You should thank Alexandre properly, Moony," he admonished. "He did just give you his very first blow job, after all. Maybe you should return the favour. Moony's almost as good at giving head as I am," he told the boy confidentially.

"You vain thing," Remus said affectionately, slapping him lightly on the arse. "No modesty at all."

"No point in being modest when you're the best at something, is there?" said Sirius cheerfully.

"I would like it very much." Alexandre gave Remus a shy smile.

"I'll just bet you would," Sirius grinned. He stretched out beside Alexandre, kissing him softly, hand tracing patterns on his chest, as Remus moved down the bed to lie between the boy's thighs.

Remus heard him gasp as he took him into his mouth. The feel and the taste of him were very different from Sirius, and he took a moment to learn them, and to discover what Alexandre liked. He half-heard the boy murmuring in semi-coherent French, and glanced up to see him, his forehead pressed to Sirius's, eyes closed, lips parted.

"Watch him," said Sirius, turning Alexandre's face so that his blue eyes and Sirius's gray ones both regarded Remus.

Alexandre ran a hand tentatively through Remus's hair, clutching convulsively as Remus sucked him deeper. His chest rose and fell with every gasp, Sirius's hand still resting on it. Sirius turned to nuzzle and bite softly at the tender skin of Alexandre's throat, and it was only a moment before the boy's breathy gasps became a sharp cry and he arched his back, his release pulsing hot into Remus's mouth.

Remus crawled up the bed, kissing a shaky sigh from the boy's lips before capturing Sirius's mouth, sharing Alexandre's heady, unfamiliar taste with his lover before subsiding back onto the bed.

"We can still stop if you want to," he reminded the boy again, very much hoping the answer would be "no".

Alexandre shook his head. "Sirius has not had his pleasure yet. And I want -" He bit his lip, looking as though he was having difficulty finding the right words.

"_Quoi?_" asked Remus.

"_Je veux que ce soit Sirius qui prenne ma virginité,_" said Alexandre, blushing slightly. _I want Sirius to take my virginity._

Remus looked from Alexandre to Sirius, wondering how much he had understood. "_Tu es sûr?_" _Are you sure?_

"_Oui._"

* * *

Sirius looked back and forth between Remus and Alexandre, who were murmuring to one another in French. He wasn't sure what was under discussion, but he had a guess.

At last, Remus bent to kiss Alexandre's forehead tenderly. "Sirius knows what he's doing," he said, switching back to English. "He'll take good care of you."

"I trust you both," said Alexandre, but there was a hint of fear in his wide blue eyes.

Sirius looked to Remus questioningly.

"It's his first time, Padfoot." Remus's voice was soft. "He wants it to be you. Just take it slow."

Sirius swallowed nervously. Up until this point, everything they had done had been just another way for him to make love to Remus. But he didn't think it was possible to be with someone, to be inside him, to take his innocence, without it being about that person, and about himself. Added to that, Sirius had been painfully hard for almost an hour now. He desperately hoped he was still capable of taking it slow.

_Alexandre,_ he told himself. _This is about Alexandre._ For a moment, he let Remus go in his mind as he looked into the French boy's blue eyes.

"Do you want me?" he asked, finding his hand and lacing their fingers together with a squeeze.

"_Oui,_" said Alexandre, swallowing visibly. "Very much please, Sirius."

Sirius kissed him. "It may hurt a bit the first time," he said gently. "But it gets better, I promise."

Alexandre smiled bravely. "I trust you," he said again.

Sirius retrieved a thick pillow and wedged it beneath the boy's buttocks. He knelt between Alexandre's thighs, hoping he looked more sure of himself than he felt, as Remus rummaged in the nightstand for the jar of lubricant potion. He scooped out a liberal amount before moving to kneel behind Sirius, one arm around his waist, the fingers of his other hand entwining with Sirius's until both their hands were warm and slippery. Apparently Remus did not plan to abandon him to do this alone, for which Sirius was grateful.

"_Regarde-nous,_" Remus murmured, low and rough, to the boy spread out before them.

"Mmmm," sighed Sirius. "You should speak French in bed more often, Moony. Very sexy."

Remus nuzzled his ear. "_Je t'aime._" he whispered, making Sirius shiver.

Their joined hands stroked the boy's cock, and he began to stiffen again, sighing and moving his hips as they caressed his balls with slick, teasing fingers. Their hands drifted lower, and Alexandre shivered and made a sound as Remus slipped one of Sirius's fingers inside him.

"_Détends-toi,_" Remus murmured. He gave Sirius's hand a gentle squeeze. "Take care of him, Padfoot. I'll take care of you."

As Sirius pressed a second finger into the boy's tight opening, making him gasp and writhe, a broken mixture of French and English falling from his lips, Remus wrapped his slippery hand around Sirius's cock, slowly slicking him up and down. His own erection nudged the smooth flesh of Sirius's arse, and Sirius ground helplessly back against him.

"_Moony_ -" he moaned.

"I want to fuck you while you're inside him, Padfoot," Remus whispered, low and sultry.

Sirius made a strangled sound, thrusting himself through Remus's fingers. "_God,_ Moony! I could come just from you saying things like that!"

"Not yet, Love." Remus gave him a tender squeeze. "Make it good for him first."

Breathing deeply, Sirius shifted his attention with some difficulty back to Alexandre. He twisted his fingers inside the boy, searching for that elusive spot, and was rewarded with a moan and a slight relaxation of the pressure around his fingers.

"Touch yourself," he urged.

Alexandre complied, eyes fixing on the two men kneeling between his splayed thighs, his body relaxing a little more with each slow stroke of his palm. When Sirius was able to add a third finger without causing Alexandre too much discomfort, he judged him as ready as he was likely to be.

"I'll go slow," he promised, bending down to kiss the boy's bitten lips.

Their cocks slid together and Alexandre arched up against him. "_S'il te plaît!_" he cried, the pleading tone in his voice requiring no translation.

Sirius eased his fingers out of the boy, and found Remus's hand, still wrapped around his cock. "Help me," he murmured, canting his hips forward, shifting his weight to his left hand, and together they guided him to Alexandre's entrance. Sirius watched the head of his cock nudge against the boy's body, and his breathing hitched as he felt Alexandre open slowly to the pressure.

* * *

"So tight," Sirius mumbled, his hands moving jerkily to grip Alexandre's thighs.

Remus's hand remained on Sirius's erection, feeling every inch as it slowly disappeared inside. There was something indescribably erotic about seeing his own fingers on his lover's cock as he sank into the French virgin's narrow passage.

Alexandre whimpered, and Sirius stilled instantly.

"Am I hurting you?" he gasped.

"Not - very much," he managed in English, but his voice wavered slightly.

"Just stay still a moment, Padfoot." Remus had to make a conscious effort to keep breathing. His arm tightened around Sirius's middle and his other hand moved to fist his own cock as he memorised every detail of the scene before him. Alexandre, dark blue eyes wide, still slowly stroking himself. Sirius bent over him, trembling, shoulders tensed with the effort not to move too soon. Both of them so beautiful. And the _scent_ of them - like the essence of sex itself. Remus groaned softly, fingers tightening around his cock.

Alexandre bit his lip. "Please. I am all right."

Sirius made a quiet sobbing sound in his throat and began to move slowly.

"What does he feel like?" Remus asked, tongue flicking out to taste the sweat on his lover's neck.

"Like you, Moony," Sirius panted. "Tight and hot and fucking gorgeous. I'm so bloody close! Are you going to fuck me or not?"

"So impatient," murmured Remus, squeezing Sirius's arse tenderly before pushing two fingers inside.

Sirius rocked back against his hand, moaning loudly. "I'm ready. Just - _please_, Moony!"

Taking him at his word, Remus withdrew his fingers, shifted his position slightly, and sheathed himself inside Sirius with a single rough thrust.

"_Fuck_, Moony!" Sirius gasped, arching his back.

"All right?" panted Remus, planting a kiss between his shoulderblades.

"Fucking amazing. Don't bloody _stop_!"

It took a moment for the three of them to find their rhythm. Sirius's hips rocked back and forth between them, clearly wanting to go faster, but holding back for Alexandre's sake. Remus did his best to meet his lover's needs by delivering slow, hard strokes deep into his tight heat, a counterpoint to the increasingly urgent movements of Alexandre's hips.

"_God!_ So close -" Sirius gritted between clenched teeth, grinding his hips back against Remus. "Fuck me, Moony!"

Remus's hand moved from its grip on Sirius's thigh to find Alexandre's cock, causing the boy to moan and arch his body tightly against Sirius.

"Come for us, Alexandre," he panted. "Want it to be - good for you - like it is for us."

A cry tore from the boy's throat and shivered through both of them as wet heat pulsed over Remus's hand.

"_Oh, God, Moony!_" Sirius gasped brokenly.

Remus felt his lover's muscles contract tightly around him, his hips losing their rhythm, and then Remus was shivering apart, too, cries muffled against the sweat of Sirius's shoulder.

After, they lay in a damp tangle of limbs as their breathing and heart rates returned to normal, the two of them curled up on either side of Alexandre, their limp hands clasped across his chest. It took Remus a moment to realise that Alexandre was trembling slightly.

"Are you all right?" he asked, head resting on the boy's shoulder.

"_Oui,_" Alexandre sighed. "_Merci._ Thank you both. It was - perfect."

"It was our pleasure. Er - no pun intended."

Sirius snorted and raised himself up on one elbow to gaze at his satisfied lover. "Happy birthday, Moony. What're you getting me for mine this year?"

Remus smiled indulgently. "Anything you like, Padfoot. I owe you."

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment before a wicked smile lit his eyes. "Maybe Alexandre could drop by for a visit."

* * *

They dozed for a bit, exchanging sleepy touches and wordless kisses. Their time together was growing short. Remus and Alexandre would need to be on their way in the morning, but none of them was quite ready to acknowledge it yet. When the occasional soft moan began to enter the mix again, Sirius nuzzled Alexandre's collarbone.

"Is there anything else you'd like to do?" he asked

Alexandre hesitated a moment. "_Oui,_" he said at last. "I would very much like to - see you together. How it is between you."

Sirius bit his lip. _How it is between us?_ he thought. He wasn't sure he knew the answer to that anymore. Everything had been so strained lately, the weight of the war pressing down on them. But he remembered well enough how it used to be, and he hoped Remus did, too. That was what Alexandre wanted to see, and Sirius longed more than anything to show it to him, and to Remus, and to himself.

"Moony?" he raised his eyes to find Remus regarding him, expression thoughtful.

"Come here, Padfoot," he said softly, raising a hand to push the dark hair back from his cheek.

Sirius's heart thudded in his chest as he crawled toward those warm brown eyes.

"Do you remember," Remus asked, "the first time we kissed?"

"Like it was yesterday," Sirius breathed. Summer sunlight. River water drying on their skin. A halting confession. And soft, sweet lips, the culmination of two years of hopeless, silent longing.

"Kiss me, Padfoot."

Sirius could not have stopped himself if he had tried. His mouth sought Remus's, teeth tugging at his full lower lip before their tongues met and swept together in hungry acknowledgment.

His arms wrapped tight around Remus's chest, and he buried his face in the crook of Remus's neck. "Moony," he said despairingly. "Moony, Moony -"

A hand on his back, stroking, soothing. "What's the matter, Padfoot?"

"I miss you, Moony. Stupid war, ruining everything good. I still love you so much -" He was horrified to feel tears stinging his eyes.

Remus's arms were around him then, mouth on his brow and cheeks and lips. "Hush, Padfoot. I know. I know."

"Don't want to lose you, Moony," he mumbled brokenly. "Rather die."

"You won't," soothed Remus, hands gentle, caressing. "You can never lose me, Padfoot. I promise. I'm here."

The comforting weight of Remus on top of him. The taste of his mouth on Sirius's desperate tongue. More - he needed _more_. He moved his hips urgently, feeling Remus's hardness slide against his own.

"Please, Moony. Need to feel you in me."

It was effortless, the way their bodies fitted together, Remus inside him, his legs wrapped around Remus's hips, one hand clutched in his sweat-damp honey brown hair, the other tracing the familiar lines of scars across his back. Sirius was aware, in a vague way, of Alexandre's eyes on them, but the boy had faded into the background of the scene, and the only thing that mattered now was Remus and all the ways and places their bodies and hearts touched.

_This_ was what it was supposed to be like. The two of them together, shutting out the world, because none of that mattered so long as they had each other.

"Love you," he sobbed. "Love you so much, Moony."

Remus's hand on him, stroking in time with the inexorable movements of their hips. Remus's brown eyes, gazing into his, filled with love and desire. "Come for me, Padfoot. You're so beautiful when you come."

A few rough strokes and a shuddering gasp and Sirius's climax spilled out hot onto his belly. Remus was only a few seconds behind, calling out his name over and over again as he came, sending little aftershocks of pleasure rippling through Sirius's body.

Remus collapsed on top of him, exhausted and spent, harsh breaths puffing against Sirius's neck. Their skins were sticky with sweat and semen, and Sirius sighed, feeling more content than he could remember being in a very long time. He turned his head on the pillow to regard Alexandre with a beatific smile.

"Was it good for you?" Sirius asked.

Alexandre looked slightly awed, but when he spoke, his voice was tinged with sadness. "_Merci._ You are very fortunate. I hope you will have many happy years together."

Remus came back to life with a groan and disentangled himself from Sirius's limbs, flopping over onto his back between them. He wrapped an arm around each of them, pulling them close against his sides.

"You'll find someone, Alexandre," he assured the boy. "Or someone will find you. I can't imagine someone like you being alone for very long."

Alexandre rubbed his cheek against Remus's shoulder. "I wish I had your belief."

He gazed across Remus's chest at Sirius, and Sirius reached out to clasp his hand tightly.

"Take care of him," Sirius begged. "Don't let anything happen to him."

Alexandre brought Sirius's fingers to his lips and kissed them reverently. "I swear to do all in my power to see he comes home safely to you."

* * *

Sirius entered the flat, shutting and locking the door behind him. They always locked the door these days. Just one more small precaution in a world gone mad. A weary sigh turned to a gasp in his throat as his eyes fell upon the cloak folded over the back of a chair. Remus's cloak. Remus was home. He touched it, just to be sure it was real. The blue wool was soft against his fingers.

Three weeks Remus had been gone - one week longer than they had thought he would be - and all that time, Sirius had been choked with fear, because there had been no word at all.

"_Moony!_" he cried, tearing into the bedroom.

He stopped in the doorway, clutching at the door frame. Remus was unpacking, a handful of crushed laurel leaves falling from his fingers onto the nightstand. He looked like he hadn't slept or shaved in a week. He was the most beautiful sight Sirius had ever seen.

Remus turned toward him, and Sirius was in his arms. They clutched at one another, foreheads pressed together, the relief of finding each other safe and whole overwhelming all else for the moment.

Then Sirius looked up and almost reeled back from the dark desolation in his lover's eyes.

"Moony -?"

"He's dead, Sirius."

"Oh, God!" Sirius gasped. "Oh, Moony! How -?"

Remus shook his head, eyes squeezing shut, as if to hide from the reality of his words. "It all went wrong. And he _knew_. He knew he was done for. That's why he wanted -"

A huge sob shook Remus's chest, and Sirius's arms tightened around him, pulling him down to the bed beside him.

"Hush, Moony," he begged through his own tears. "Don't talk. Just rest. You're home. You're safe now."

They lay curled around one another, Sirius holding his weeping lover tight in the circle of his arms, kissing his tear-streaked face and murmuring soothing nonsense to him.

"It was such a mess," Remus gasped hopelessly. "I failed him. I wanted - I never meant -"

"It's not your fault, Moony. You did your best. It's this fucking war."

Remus looked at him with miserable, bloodshot eyes. "Sometimes I feel like we've already lost," he confessed.

"No." Sirius cupped Remus's face between his hands, meeting his eyes with a look of fierce determination. "We're still alive, Moony. We still have each other. We're not done yet. We can win this thing."

A sad smile touched the corner of Remus's mouth. "Whatever happens, I'm glad I found you, Padfoot. I love you."

Their lips met softly, tasting of tears and longing.

"We're going to make it through this," Sirius promised. "I love you, Moony, and as long as I live, nothing will ever change that."


End file.
